BCCL restructuring may cut 5-10% of workforce across departments & publications

Days after announcing its partnership with OpenAI, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. (BCCL), the parent company of the Times of India Group, is understood to be undertaking a wider restructuring that could result in a workforce reduction of 5-10% across publications and departments, according to people familiar with the development.

Nearly 10% of the workforce has been shifted to contractual employment, with most of them taking a 40% salary cut, insiders told e4m.

According to an insider, “Department heads have recently met with team leads and asked them to prepare a list of roles that are no longer relevant. They have also been asked to identify job functions that could potentially be replaced by AI.”

“While there has been no formal announcement yet, there is a clear undercurrent,” said an editorial staffer.

The development follows the restructuring of BCCL’s Response, where more than 40 employees were asked to leave last week, as reported by e4m.

Read: BCCL undergoes restructuring, layoffs in Response

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Notably, BCCL is one of India’s largest media companies, with iconic brands such as The Times of India and The Economic Times, considered the world’s largest-circulating English daily and second-largest-circulating English business daily, respectively. The group has around 7,000 employees across India. 

Insiders say the changes extend beyond individual businesses and are being viewed within the organisation as part of a broader effort to consolidate overlapping businesses and improve efficiency across the group.

“A few publications and editions are likely to reduce their pagination and tweak their editorial strategies to revive their market presence and drive growth,” a senior executive said.

The restructuring comes at a time when the media and advertising businesses are facing pressure from changing consumer behaviour, slower growth in some traditional revenue streams and the rapid adoption of AI.

BCCL’s response

When asked about the layoffs, a top BCCL official said, “Your information is incorrect. There is no predetermined headcount-reduction target. Like any progressive organisation, BCCL continuously reviews its processes, roles and operating structures to build greater efficiency and adopt emerging technologies, including AI, so that it remains agile, competitive and future-ready.”

He added, “As responsibilities evolve, the emphasis is on role redesign, upskilling and redeployment wherever feasible. Similarly, individual editions periodically review pagination and content mix in line with audience needs and business performance.”

A larger organisational realignment

The latest moves also come against the backdrop of a formal reorganisation of BCCL’s businesses. In February, the Competition Commission of India approved the internal reorganisation of certain BCCL businesses into Times Horizon Private Limited (THPL). The exercise involves the demerger of the group’s EIBME businesses, covering a range of non-publishing activities, from BCCL into THPL.

The current workforce exercise appears to be separate from that legal restructuring, although industry sources see the two developments as part of a broader effort to sharpen business verticals and rationalise operations.